Effects of chlorine on cells of Vibrio cholerae Original Research Article

Since the sixth pandemic outbreak of cholera, chlorine had been used as the first line of defense. The objective of this investigation was to determine the bactericidal concentration of chlorine against Vibrio cholerae in artificially-contaminated samples of shrimps and water. Cells of V. cholerae were exposed to varying concentrations (5–10 ppm) of chlorine in solution for 5 min. Artificially-contaminated shrimp (Xiphoenaeus kroyer) samples were also dipped for 5 min in chlorine solutions (10 ppm). The results strongly indicate that 8 ppm chlorine was effective in killing viable cells from pure cultures. Isolates of this organism were recovered from carapace, head and tail parts of the crustaceans.V. cholerae strains re-isolated from carapace/head samples seemed to be more resistant than those from tail meat when exposed to 10 ppm chlorine solution for 5 min.